Life Visioning

Wow.

Love that. So much goodness in there.

First, this is simply magical: “Within our core self is an indelible blueprint of unrivaled individuality—the singular being that each of us exists to express.”

Reminds me of Abraham Maslow who told us about our need to self-actualize and declared: “What one can be, one must be.”

And, this is equally magical: “One of the first principles to honor in your relationship with yourself is to respect and trust your own inner voice. This form of trust is the way of the heart, the epitome of well-being.”

That reminds me of Vernon Howard’s wisdom from The Power of Your Supermind (see Notes) where he tells us: “How true are you to yourself? That is the degree of your contentment.”

Plus Emerson’s mojo comes to mind: “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this. The only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong what is against it.”

Speaking of Emerson, if you haven’t checked out Emerson and his goodness yet, PLEASE do!

I recommend you start with our Note on The Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. You can get access to both the PDF and an MP3 recording of me reading his classic essay Self-Reliance in your member’s section on our site.

For now, know that you are here to connect to and express your Authentic Self.

Beckwith’s Life Visioning Process is a powerful way to help us do so.

Let’s explore some Big Ideas on how to best do that!!

Powerful.

To re-cap, here our the five foundational qualities to rockin’ the Life Visioning Process:

1. Intention or willingness

2. Receptivity or reverential alertness

3. Acceptance of and surrender to what is revealed

4. The self-discipline to take action on what is revealed

5. Gratitude that we already have all that we need to take the next step in our evolution

Beckwith goes into detail on each of these qualities.

Me likes.

Ah, today’s communication technology.

email. The Internet. Facebook. Twitter.

How’s yourrelationship to it?

If you’re like me, this is easily one of your biggest challenges!

It’s (almost) funny how unconscious I can get in this domain. If I’m not very aware, I can easily get so wrapped up in my addiction to the constant stimulation of communication that I’ll feel a bizarre pull to check my email at a stoplight or look at political news updates for the tenth time that day.

Yowsers.

Recognizing that this was cramping my style and overall connection to my Highest Self, I made a couple of tweaks to my Internet usage that you might like as well.

First, my 100%, non-negotiable #1 Blissipline for the new year was to meditate before checking email. (I had this annoying habit of waking up and checking email on my iPhone way more often than I liked and I noticed that my days were significantly better when I started with meditation instead!)

That was HUGE for me.

I also instituted a “no Internet” after 6:30 pm rule. And, no non-work Internet time throughout the day. Goodbye news! :)

Again, HUGE.

By unplugging from the matrix of incessant communication, I was able to plug into the “inner-net” of my own being—which has made me considerably more present in everything I do—creatively, relationship-wise, etc.

If you’re feelin’ it, I HIGHLY recommend it!!

Whaddya think? How can YOU become more mindful with your communication technology?

P.S. As you unplug from the Internet and plug into the Inner-net, remember Joseph Campbell’s reminder on the subject: “This is an absolute necessity for anybody today. You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers this morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you might find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.”

Do you ever get tears in your eyes when you witness excellence?

Or a heroic moment? Or kindness? Or love?

I agree with Beckwith that these moments strike the chord of excellence (+ heroism + kindness + love) within US!

In those inspiring moments, we are called to drop our fears, fully express ourselves and live with radiant enthusiasm!!

…

What has inspired youlately?

What is that calling forth from within you that you can express more of today?!

Meditation. (Again. :)

We talk about meditation *a lot* throughout these Notes. Why?

As Beckwith says: “Experience has convinced me that meditation is the most powerful spiritual technology for discovering our fundamental, enlightened state of being.”

That’s a pretty powerful reason. And, if that isn’t enough, meditation also helps you elicit “the relaxation response” that (literally) changes your genetic expression for the better while boosting your immune system, creativity and willpower.

How about some more wisdom on the “why” of meditation?

Eknath Easwaran puts it this way in his wonderful book, Conquest of Mind (see Notes): “Whenever I describe the mechanics of meditation in this book, I will always be referring to the method I teach, which I have practiced myself for many decades. It is essentially the training of attention. The technique is simple but far from easy. It requires effort, and – like athletic conditioning – it can be quite strenuous. Its purpose is not to attain some remarkable experience during meditation but to master the thinking process. The rewards, therefore, come during the rest of the day. As your meditation deepens, you will find yourself stronger and more resilient, better able to face the challenges of life as the kind of person you would like to be: loving, creative, resourceful, and full of vitality.”

He adds: “Meditation is warm-up exercise for the mind, so that you can jog through the rest of the day without getting agitated or spraining your patience.” :)

Matthieu Ricard (whose brain has been studied by more neuroscientists over the last 20 years than probably any other monk on the planet!) shares this in Why Meditate? (see Notes): “Over the course of the last ten years, I have also participated in several research programs intended to document the long-term effects of meditation practice on the brain and on behavior. This research has shown that it is possible to make significant progress in developing qualities such as attention, emotional balance, altruism, and inner peace. Other studies have also demonstrated the benefits of meditating for 20 minutes a day for a period of six to eight weeks. These benefits include a decrease in anxiety, in vulnerability from pain, and in the tendency toward depression and anger, as well as strengthening the power of attention, boosting the immune system, and increasing one’s general well-being. Thus, no matter what point of view you approach it from—whether that of personal transformation, the development of altruistic love, or physical health—meditation emerges as a factor essential for leading a balanced life, rich in meaning.”

He adds: “The ultimate reason for meditating is to transform ourselves in order to be better able to transform the world. To put it another way, we transform ourselves so that we can become better human beings and serve others in a wiser and more effective way. Meditation thus gives our life the noblest possible meaning.”

Check out the Notes on The Relaxation Revolution + Why Meditate? + Conquest of Mind + Wherever You Go, There You Are + The Willpower Instinct for more mojo on meditation.

And, here’s to rockin’ our practice! :)

Powerful!

We can get pretty excited and intense and focused in these Notes.

It’s always wise to remember to laugh at ourselves. :)